While most Bluetooth headsets are small devices that sit in one ear, the Jabra BT620s looks more like a pair of earmuff-style headphones. This is because the BT620s can be used to listen to stereo sound signals. Phone conversations arenÕt currently conducted in stereo, of course, but this Jabra headset has been designed with music lovers in mind as well.
In order to listen to stereo music wirelessly, however, the BT620s needs to be paired with a compatible A2DP-compliant Bluetooth device. A2DP allows for advanced audio playback, but not all Bluetooth devices support it. None of the devices we initially tested, including a Microsoft Bluetooth 2 dongle, a new Bluetooth-enabled Mac and a Nokia 6680, supported A2DP. Jabra does, however, provide its own A2DP-compliant Bluetooth USB dongle at £29.99.
Once up and running, sound quality is excellent, both on mono phone calls and stereo music playback. Range
is also pretty good, although not up to the claimed 10m. We certainly got a good 7m and several walls away before sound started breaking up. The only gripe weÕd have is that there’s quite a bit of sound leakage at mid-to-high volumes. Buttons to remotely control media playback are built into the earpieces. Once again, the paired Bluetooth device needs to be compliant with a specific protocol for these controls to work.
Theoretically, the BT620s can connect to two devices simultaneously, pausing music playback from one device, say, when a phone call is received from another. In our tests, however, receiving a call from a mobile seemed to break our link to our PC-based music player.
Wireless headphones will always appeal, but this offering has its issues. The bulky design wonÕt impress those used to Ipod headphones and, more importantly, if you want to listen to stereo music through your mobile, you’ll need an A2DP-compliant phone.
Verdict: 3 stars
Overall Sound quality is great, but compatibility issues might put people off.
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